“That’s worth more to me than being mad that Iggy over here is still fucking around about how he feels about MorganaandSlade. It’s bigger than our damn dragon being an asshole all the time until just before we came here. Because I have areal familywho are my friends and some of my lovers and mates… And I can’t keep my mouth shut as I watch this puffy asshole ruininghis chance to have something good over something as small as what’s in the chick’s pants.”
I blink, shaking my head as I gape for a moment. Clearing my throat, I say, “He’s not lying; he didn’t care that Liam was a guy, and he’d never been with a guy before when they mated.”
The Keeper smiles broadly, reaching over to clap Lucas on the shoulder. “Excellent speech, lad. That’s spot-on, and you had the stones to tell off the future king of Hell. My new favorite student is lucky to have friends such as you.”
Angelo nods and then adds his own two cents. “My brother and our furry hockey player are also lovers… probably mates, too. The ugly bird seems like he will join them with our girl. It’s much less worrisome to be flexible with sexuality in Hell, as we’ve seen by the connection you have to Zavida.”
The Kitsune turns bright red and hides behind his tails, which gets the prince to look at him with a rueful expression. “You made a promise, Jas. I’ve been trying to remind you, but your fury was too great.”
“I fucking did, didn’t I?” The cranky dragon sighs heavily, raking his hand through his hair as the lizard tail swishes angrily at his feet. “And my dragon is saying much worse to me than this kid just did.”
“I think I just had a revelation, too… if that helps.”
My words make the prince roll his gaze up to the weird starless sky of Hell, and I can tell by his posture that he’s trying to figure out what he’s going to do. Finally, he looks at the group. “We have to search this place and move to our next target, so we cannot waste more time on my stubbornness. But I will think about it as we go. Is that enough to press pause on this topic?”
By the looks on everyone’s faces, I think it is—but I don’t think we’re the ones he needs to discuss it with, anyway.
Eighteen
KIT/KAT
“You want me to read… books about this?” I give the gargoyle a skeptical expression, and she laughs as she takes another bite of her cupcake. My gaze swings to Rogue, who also looks smug.
“Hell if I know, Kat, but if Morgana says it will help, I’ll join the book club.” She frowns for a second, leaning in to say, “I’ve never been a big reader—at least, not as an adult—but no one should claim there isn’t room for improvement. Plus, it sounds like I need to brush up on my other half more than I realized, you know?”
I nod, understanding why she’s suppressed a piece of herself that her adoptive family didn’t approve of. My families all had their own likes and dislikes, which meant figuring them out and doing my best to tailor my behavior to them without compromising my boundaries was often the first order of business when I got to a new home. I probably did it here too, I suppose. That kind of repeated mental training isn’t easy to shake after so many years.
“You could try letting it out a little here,” I offer as I take the Fae wine from her for another sip. “I mean, carefully, since you’re not very familiar, but none of your dudes are here to see it go wonky if it does. I didn’t have that luxury when my shifts and stuff started just fucking popping out without my permission, and it was embarrassing.”
Morgana frowns at us. “I dislike knowing that. I got lucky with at least one adoptive parent who could help a shift, and my mother, despite her disappointment about magic, did her best to guide me with the gorgon. She only had the materials she could source, though, so I had to pick up things along the way from those who had knowledge of them. That wasn’t easy to find either, by the way.”
She’s had three hundred years to do it, though, and we haven’t.
“I could try it, I guess,” Rogue says as she looks at us nervously.
I smile at her encouragingly—I think—because I believe she rarely shows vulnerability like this to people willingly. That rings true for me, too, and though I’m not surewhyI feel more comfortable with these women than I have with any other women in my entire life, I want her to let go as well. “We won’t judge; I promise. I mean, it’s not like you’re going to eat someone important or start a battle during class, so…”
She grins a little, huffing a soft laugh. “That’s true. You have the award for most out of control beginning shifts in our little coven here.”
“She does,” Morgana admits as she chuckles. “Though when I worked at Swallowtail, I saw some ridiculous shit. But those kids had a lot more knowledge than she did, too, so I suppose it shouldn’t have been quite as bad.”
Rogue sits up, making sure her birdy bundle is situated more towards the middle, and then takes a deep breath. “I’m gonna try to do partial things, not the full enchilada, so I don’t fuck up. Okay?”
“Fuck up is an interesting way to put it,” Morgana snorts. “But it’s a good plan; I’m on board.”
Sitting back with Dottie on my lap and the wine in my hand, I nod. “Go for it.”
The hybrid Fae’s eyes close, and she makes a face like she is concentrating hard. After a few moments, a long, red pointed tail and sparkling curved horns break free. The demonic appendages lookverymuch like a traditional devil costume—something I haven’t seen down here yet. I don’t know if that’s because of her hybrid nature or the species because the Cubi I’ve met down here keep their demon features tucked away even when they’re doing their seduction and feeding thing.
“You could definitely wear those for Halloween and no one would realize it in the human world,” I say. “That’s pretty rad.”
Morgana tilts her head as she looks at Rogue. “I assume you realize that single-piece shifting is often only something shifters who are dominant can do, right? I don’t know about demons, though. Do you, Kat?”
“I’ve only seen really juiced up ones like my guys do it, so maybe? Once they announced the Games here, the education in classes shifted immediately to prepare for them. The guys say that we’re learning shit that’s not legal, Games-focused materials, and skipping things that are important for a true understanding of the realm and the world. That’s why Anton has been sneaking me books from areas I can’t get to.”
Rogue clears her throat, and when she speaks, her voice is a bit huskier. “I thought it would be harder. I almost never let this side of me come out, and I wasn’t sure if I’d forgotten.”
“What did you do to get it to… come out?” I ask curiously. “I’ve had some magic pop free that Ibelieveis demon-related, but… I don’t know how to talk to it like I do the animals. Slash has been working with me on that part, and I’m slowly making progress. But I don’t know what to do to get the demon to even… manifest, I guess?”
